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Alex Aslam
Alex Aslam

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Turbocharge Your Monorepo: Battle-Tested Tips for Nx, Turborepo, and Bazel Pros 🚀

#webdev #programming #javascript #automation

Let’s face it: Working in a monorepo without proper tooling is like trying to parallel park a cruise ship. 🛳️ You’ve got 100 projects, 500 tasks, and a CI pipeline that takes longer to run than The Lord of the Rings trilogy. But here’s the good news—Nx, Turborepo, and Bazel can turn that ship into a speedboat.

I’ve seen teams waste weeks untangling dependency graphs and debugging “works on my machine” ghosts. But with the right hacks, your monorepo can go from “chaos engine” to “velocity machine.” Buckle up.

Why Your Monorepo Feels Like a Python Script on a NASA Rover

Monorepos should simplify collaboration, but without turbocharged tooling:

  • Task orchestration becomes “run everything and pray.”
  • Caching is a myth (“But it ran 5 minutes ago!”).
  • Dependency graphs look like your toddler’s spaghetti art.

You’re not slow—your tooling is. Let’s fix that.

Tip 1: Nx — The Dependency Graph Whisperer 🧙♂️

Nx isn’t just a task runner—it’s a monorepo mind-reader.

Pro Moves:

  • Generate a dependency graph: 
  nx graph
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Visualize what’s connected to what (and nuke circular dependencies).

  • Cache ALL THE THINGS: 
  nx run-many --target=build --all --parallel=8
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Skip rebuilds for untouched projects.

  • Cloud caching for teams: 
  nx connect-to-nx-cloud
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Share cache hits across your org. Yes, even Bob in accounting.

Secret Weapon: Use nx affected to only run tasks on projects touched by a PR.

Tip 2: Turborepo — The Speed Demon 😈

Turborepo’s tagline? “Zero to cached, parallelized, pipeline glory in 5 minutes.”

Pro Moves:

  • Pipeline rules in turbo.json: 
  {  
    "pipeline": {  
      "build": {  
        "dependsOn": ["^build"],  
        "outputs": ["dist/**"]  
      },  
      "test": {  
        "cache": false // Don’t cache flaky tests!  
      }  
    }  
  }
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  • Global installs be gone: 
  npx turbo build
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No need to npm install—Turborepo uses what’s in your lockfile.

  • Remote caching with Vercel, AWS, or DIY: 
  turbo login && turbo link
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Secret Weapon: turbo prune to extract a subset of your monorepo (perfect for Docker builds).

Tip 3: Bazel — The Enterprise-Grade Beast 🦖

Bazel isn’t just a tool—it’s a lifestyle.

Pro Moves:

  • Hermetic builds: 
  # BUILD.bazel  
  nodejs_binary(  
    name = "build",  
    entry_point = "build.js",  
    data = ["//shared:utils"], // Explicit dependencies  
  )
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No more “hidden” dependencies.

  • Remote execution: Offload builds to a server farm.
  • Persistent workers: Keep hot processes alive between runs.

Secret Weapon: Use bazel query to debug why //apps/client depends on //libs/quantum-physics.

The Universal Hacks (Works for Any Tool)

  1. Cache Like Your CI Bill Depends on It

    • CI Key: Include OS, node version, and lockfile hash in cache keys.
    • Zero Trust: Assume no cache. Validate with --force once a week.

  2. Kill Task Duplication

   # Bad:  
   npm run build --workspace=@myorg/utils  
   npm run build --workspace=@myorg/ui  
   # Good:  
   turbo run build --filter=@myorg/*
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  1. Profile, Don’t Assume
    • Nx: nx run build --profile
    • Turborepo: turbo run build --profile
    • Bazel: bazel analyze-profile

Real-World War Story: Startup X’s 10x Speed Boost

A 50-dev monorepo was dying under 45-minute CI times. They:

  1. Switched from lerna to Turborepo + Nx.
  2. Added remote caching with AWS S3.
  3. Used nx affected to skip 80% of tasks. Result: CI runs dropped to 4 minutes. Devs cried happy tears.

Pitfalls to Dodge

  • Over-Parallelization: 100 parallel tasks can melt your CI runner.
  • Ignoring .gitignore: Cache node_modules? Enjoy 10GB of trash.
  • Human Tasks: Manual version bumps? Let bots (Renovate/Dependabot) do it.

Tools of the Trade

  • Lage: Microsoft’s quiet contender for task orchestration.
  • Rush: If you love monorepos but miss 1990s CLI vibes.
  • Vercel: For Turborepo fans who want plug-and-play caching.

Your Action Plan:

  1. Audit Your Pain: Where’s time being wasted? Tasks? Installs?
  2. Pick Your Fighter: Nx (Angular/enterprise), Turborepo (React/startup), Bazel (scale/googley).
  3. Automate or Die: Cache, parallelize, repeat.

Final Thought:

Monorepos don’t have to be a necessary evil. With the right tools, they’re a superpower. Now go make your next git commit feel like a warp-speed jump.

Tag someone whose CI pipeline is older than their coffee. They need this. ☕

TL;DR:

  • Nx: Dependency graphs + cloud caching.
  • Turborepo: Dead-simple speed.
  • Bazel: “I have a PhD in build systems.”

Got a monorepo speed hack or horror story? Drop it below! Let’s geek out. 🧑💻

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